


Skin Deep

by waywardindeed



Series: Rumbelle Rewritten [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode AU: s01e12 Skin Deep, F/M, Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:34:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25518880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waywardindeed/pseuds/waywardindeed
Summary: What would have happened if Rumplestiltskin didn't push Belle away?
Relationships: Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold
Series: Rumbelle Rewritten [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1848739
Comments: 10
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to @GoldenRumbelle for giving me this idea and helping me craft this series idea :) You're absolutely amazing!   
> I'm planning to make this a pretty large series with each work, a different universe, a different situation that Adam and Eddy/the writers ruined for Rumbelle. I'm going to try to work them in chronological order 1-7 but we'll see. I'm open for suggestions for what to fix up next, I've got a couple ideas but am always open for more :)
> 
> This series is going to be a more general fix-it of the bad scenes but I'm going to start a more in depth fix-it series as well if any of you are interested...

Here he stood, at the largest window within his large castle, utterly trapped, watching the shadows in the clearing nearest the town flicker as the sun journeyed across the sky. He was helplessly stuck in his potion room, for no feasible reason except that this, this Belle had come into his life and had—had yet to come back with the straw he desperately needed to continue his spinning. A couple miles away, in the left edge of his viewpoint, something shifted, bringing him out of his thoughts and without thinking much of it, he focused in on that movement as he had done millions of times. This time something told him that pesky shadow wasn’t just that, at least probably not, he could just make out the outline of a woman, presumably the maid who had stolen every thought from his brain, in this weather he doubted of anyone who had enough courage to make it through the storm just to form some meaningless deal and be sent on their way again; yes it had to be her. A complete and genuine smile settled in the corner of his lips at the thought, excitement coursing through his body as he turned on his heel, sprinting back to his wheel, thanking his ever present dark one-ness for keeping his upright on the way down, and not letting him trip headfirst down the staircase and making more of a fool of himself than he already was sure to be. He was filled with some distant twitch of happiness to be leaving his lonely lab he had spent so many eons in, to go find Belle and her new and addicting warmth. 

He plopped down, took the wheel in one hand and the straw his restless worry wracked state had given up on in the other, trying desperately to calm his racing heart with the familiar rotation. What would she think when she saw him in this flustered state? 

‘What’s up with you?’ she’d ask. ‘Why are you so excited, hmm?’ 

And then she would smile at him like she knew the answer to that question and to everything she could possibly say, and boy would that smile set him off again. Everything in his brain dissipated back into dust when the brown and white double doors were pushed open at the front of his treasure room and he took a last deep breath as Belle walked in, making good of his last chance to calm himself. She held the green coat he had given her a while back for adventures in one hand and a large basket of straw in the other, a smile curling her lips as she walked closer and closer.

“Oh, you’re back already. Good,” he said stamping down on the clear excitement running through his voice and trying to pull his comforting mask of emotions back. 

There were too many feelings clearly sitting in the air for her to be this close, to be walking towards him with such confidence. Never in his three hundred years had he been this scared of anything, or anyone for that matter. He was so lost in trying to cover himself up that it took a second for the panic to rush through his blood as the words he had spoken floated to his ears and he let his next words spill out without thinking, trying to cover it up. 

“Good thing. I’m uh, I’m nearly out of straw,” he clarified forcing himself to look away from her.

“Hmm,” she said, her smile fading into her usual knowing smirk, clearly she had in fact noticed this slip up and had probably added it to her list of his odd mistakes at that measure. She dropped the basket next to his wheel and looked up to smile at him, “Come on, you’re happy I’m back.”

“I’m not unhappy,” he said, showing his teeth and she laughed quietly, walking around to the other side of his spinning wheel, to where he sat, leaving the barrier he had counted on for so long behind. With this last barrier dissolved, his mind began to fuzz in response, so much that he could just barely make out her next words, it felt like someone had dunked his head in a cool lake and she was floating atop nearby talking to him without any slight notice of how his insides were scrambling.

“And, uh, you promised me a story.”

“Did I?” He asked completely avoiding answering to give her a way out, a way to go back on whatever foolish train of thought she was riding, a way to run back to her family and castle. She made no move to take it, just stood there watching him as he tried to judge the situation, searching her eyes for an answer for what she was doing back here, after wanting so terribly to leave. Who would ever want to stay with a monster who was holding them captive? Especially him, who she had truly seen though, to the deepest of his soul. None of it made sense to him and the longer she stayed, the more the frustration of not understanding settled itself into his stomach.

He watched her with wide eyes, unable to move or speak as she meandered around him and plucked the end of the spinning wheel out and dropped it to the side, making just enough space for her to plop down, back against the wheel. For a quick moment, she clasped her hands together in her lap, before moving one to rest on his leg, leaning in to continue what she was saying but he was beyond hearing anything at this point. Usually people were so easy to figure out but Belle has some sparkle in her eye that he couldn’t quite figure out. What was she thinking? First, she called upon a monster to initiate a deal and now she was here, with the very same monster, invading his space, his spinning wheel, what would he do now? He knew he’d never be able to erase this moment from his mind, to stop thinking about her, no matter how hard he tried, never be able to stop feeling her hand as it sat so innocently on his thigh, spreading it’s infectious warmth, her warmth, tingling through every inch of scaled, golden skin. What was he to do? As if just seeing her around, seeing a teasing smile flutter across her lips if he ever did anything she deemed too kind for an all feared monster wasn’t enough, now she had to come and invade the one place he could pretend his traitorous feelings didn’t exist, yet now, it was all useless.

When it seemed she wasn’t going to give in, he slowly filled in his side of their deal, leaving out the details she surely wouldn’t want to hear, the ones he liked to stuff down to his toes to keep from thinking about. All the while her hand kept up it’s infuriatingly close hold on him. She, of course oblivious to his brain's raging storm, took this rare open side to him as he answered her query and used it against him, trying to figure him out once and for all.

The more she talked, the faster he felt his confusion bubble and boil over. Why was she acting so sweet, so caring to him of all people; what in the world was she doing? Why had she chosen to sit here, so close to the monster who had stolen her from the safe and comfort of her castle, in which she could very well be at instead. He couldn’t help but lean closer, trying to investigate every inch of her face to find a clue of what she was planning. There was no tangible reason for her current behavior—except a small corner of his brain whispered, but he cut it off before hope could latch its claws too deep into his heart. That wasn’t an option, not for him. “Why did you come back?”

“I wasn’t going to. But then.. something changed by mind,” and suddenly he felt her lips on his. Belle had felt a surge of bravery scamper down her spine and before she could decide against it, before Rumple could replace his carefully constructed walls, she had acted on it. As their lips met, the frustration that had curled itself inside Rumple’s stomach twisted into the last thing he would have ever dreamed—hope. Rumple soon found himself very much lost in Belle’s hands that were curling through his hair, in her lips mixing with his in the most perfect way he could never have imagined, but as he left himself there and opened up his heart to her love, as the cool tendrils he knew so well started to melt and drip away, running from the pure connection they sensed nearby, a small, almost painful twinge took his heart in it’s hand the pressure almost burning him the longer the kiss lasted. 

“I-i mustn’t,” he murmured, forcing himself to break the connection, hearing the panic seeming into his voice as he grasped feverishly for those tendrils to slide back into place, he needed his safe barriers back, someone was counting on him, someone all alone in a strange world, he couldn’t let this happen, he had so much action to plan out.

“Hmm? Why not?” She asked, her eyes wide with a thousand questions that he could almost see flashing upon the blue but he tugged himself free of her eyes, seeing a frown play across her beautiful lips.

“I have a son to save,” he explained, trying to feign bravery, these words just as much an explanation for his actions as a rope that tugged him back from getting too lost in this new experience which, in his opinion was far, far too easy.

“You said he’s not dead right? Just lost?” She asked, grasping at his chin, using it to pull his eyes up to hers from his spot on the carpet.

“Indeed.”

“We’ll figure that out later then, together.” In this moment he hadn’t even the slightest clue why this promise out of all those that had been broken felt so real and he could feel her smile against his lips as he let her pull him back in. A trickle of warmth ran down his spine as he felt his barriers dissipate into the cool night and abandon his heart when they melded their lips together once more.


	2. Chapter 2

The morning had come and gone before either of the pair decided to make a move towards being productive. Rumple had spent the dark hours trying to piece together how his life had taken on such a twist. He’d been a whole different creature mere hours ago. 

After Belle had made her promise and the kiss had rekindled and then died again, they finally got the chance to fully process everything. The chance to confirm his earlier suspicions sprung out and he looked down on his arms, barely surprised to see the return of pink-ish flesh from his spinner days long ago. It wasn’t too hard to realize what had happened between them. He remembered feeling the magic hiss and react to her lips and it didn’t take long for the pieces to click together and the realization hit. What did take him quite a while longer to understand was why she had given him such a kiss. True Loves kiss. He watched, frozen, as Belle’s eyes roamed over his newly scale-free entirety and to his complete surprise, watched as she broke into a smile and brought him in for another kiss, her tongue tangling and dancing with his. He kept waiting for it, for her to realize just who she was kissing and leave him behind, weak and alone with the dusts of his old self, but the kiss only grew and doubled. 

“Well hello,” a quiet voice said on his shoulder, bringing him back to blue eyes staring up at him. She had been curled up with her head on his chest for most of the night. He’d taken to combing his hands through her hair as he thought through the night but stopped now as she moved to look at him. 

“Good morning.” He answered, returning her smile and leaning down to kiss her head. A little while later they got up and she retrieved his old walking stick for him, offering her hand for his free one.

\------------------------------

“Well,” Belle huffed, “This is the last from the east wing of the library, it’s a good thing you have me such a big one, we don’t seem to be running low on possibilities.” She winked at him and plopped the stack on the opposite side of the desk Rumple sat at. It was large, towing over her head by a long shot and made up of books in multitudes of color. He looked up as the crack of books thudded across the room and she handed him two from the top. He inspected the stack in front of him, surprised at just how many bore promising names. He scolded himself for not taking the time before now to look around the library. He’d been so centered on having the curse play out, on trying to seem aloof with Belle that the huge resource has sat idly just under his nose rashly unused. He shook his head, how could he think himself a good father if he forgot about Bae in the first chance he got. On the other side of the table, Belle had chosen two for herself and made her way over to her favorite chair in the corner.

For the following hours, they scoured each page over and over again, jumping up and yelling out some possible solution and continuing the page to confirm only to see it was a myth, extinct or unfit one way or another and omit the newfound hope that had grown. Soon time began to melt away, its steady rhythm greatly contrasting the frantic one the beheld the room inside. Somehow, the pile of books began to thin, unable to glare down at them from its spot on the table any longer, the happiness of progress dampened down by the clear reminder of how little their options were.

When they were just down to three books: red, green and blue covered, Belle broke the silence. It had been a long while since either of them had any ideas so Belle’s voice was quiet and careful as if not wanting to disturb the page into fluttering away.

“I think I found something.” Then, after confirming it twice more her voice lept “Yes! This is it! Come look!” Rumple had already begun reaching for his walking stick but began to move faster now, gaining excitement through hers.

“What is it?”

“This! Right here it says that these slippers will take the wearer to the person they think of, not the location as most do. It’s exactly what we hoped for! It says here that they were uh, they were last seen in Oz.”

“They’re in Oz?” He asked and she nodded. “Oh, I don’t know if that’s a good idea...”

“Wait why?”

“For one, since we’re searching for a portal ourselves, I don’t think it’s wise to waste it on getting there…” He trailed off, tilting his head at her when she shook her head with a smile. “What?”

“There’s a gate to Oz in the moors by my papa’s castle, he used to use it a lot for trades. Wait, you’re telling me you, the all-powerful Dark One doesn’t know this?”

“I’ve had no desire to venture into Oz, that is until now so I haven’t had any interest to find out.”

“So what else is wrong with it?” she asked, looking up at him.

“Well, the only person I know who lives in Oz is someone we certainly don’t want to cross and the last time I talked to her she did mention something about magical shoes.”  
“So you’re what, gonna give up? Come on! This is the first actual chance you have to find your son in two hundred years and you’re giving in to some witch?”

“About three hundred actually,” he whispered and she gave him an angry look. “Alright, alright okay.” He put his hands up in mock surrender before giving her his arm. She looped her arm around his and with a nod, he swept them up in a swift wave of red. In a split second, they found themselves standing amidst the grassy out-lands of Avonlea, peering down into an endless valley of more green.

“There!” Belle exclaimed pointing far to their left. Rumple turned, expecting to see something other than the green grasses and greener bushes but was disappointed.

“What? I can’t see anything that looks like a portal.”

“Then I guess you’ll just have to trust me then, won’t you,” she said with a grin. He made a face but allowed her to guide him down the crest of the hill towards the collection of trees she had fixed her attention upon. They moved slowly, Rumple’s cane causing trouble in the thick grasses. After reaching the trees, Belle let go of his hand, starting to walk towards the tree and his gaze flooded with panic. Was this her plan? She was going to leave him here by her castle so her dad and his guards could take care of him? They would certainly recognize him, even without the scales and it wasn’t as if he could move fast with his cane, he was doomed. 

Belle reached the tallest tree and stopped, tapping twice with her knuckles, the sound echoing off the other trees in a wave. Once it had faded, she tapped once more and a wooden gate accompanied by two more gate panels appeared drawing a line between the two middle trees. She turned with a grin, looking back to Rumple who tried his best to give her one in return. The panic slowly dripped away, gone completely when she had his hand in hers once more. Together they walked through the mist, the droplets clinging on their skin as they passed. 

Once through the mist, Rumple had to blink a couple of times to register the complete change in scenery. Hundreds of trees replaced the sparse grasslands to their front and sides. When he turned around, there was a small, thin dirt walkway that curved and disappeared into the first a hundred feet ahead. They agreed on taking the pathway as it was what Belle’s father had used to get to the trading village who’s people might be able to help. 

About an hour's journey later, they found a clearing filled with plenty of different tables advertising the sale of different crafts and all sorts of trinkets. Behind the clearing was a large cluster of small houses. 

“Do you get much business?” Rumple asked looking around. They hadn’t encountered anyone on their journey but with the overwhelming amount of stalls, the emptiness seemed out of place. 

“No sir, we like to hope we will soon though,” the guy working the closest stall answered. He was skinny and had short black hair with thick eyebrows and tan skin. He had a black leather jacket on, pulled over a grey sweater. 

“This is getting weird already,” Rumple sighed.

A couple of hours later after they had made their way among the stalls questioning the patrons and inspecting the items for future reference they gave up, continuing forward on the path to discuss what to do next. They quieted when a small shack appeared from the fog, quite a ways from the village. The shack seemed rather more tall than wide with grey walls and wooden detailing along the sides, a lot more elegant than the ones they’d passed. In front of it, in a wooden lawn chair sat a girl around Belle’s age, perhaps older with long brown hair tied up in a braid that sat upon her shoulder. She wore a sage green coat strapped tight by a wide leather belt reaching from her waist up to her chest, a checkered green dress flowing below. Upon noticing their arrival she sat bolt upright, reaching her hand towards the hand of a sword she’d tucked into the side of her dress.

“There’ll be no need for that dearie!” Rumple growled, instincts taking over.

“Wait! Look!” Belle exclaimed, catching his arm and pulling him back before he could stalk closer. On her feet glimmered two slippers, not an inch lacking in thousands of sparkles. It looked exactly as it’s drawn counterpart.

“You’re interested in my shoes?” The girl across the clearing asked, not taking her gaze off Rumple. 

“It’s just that we were sure they were elsewhere, in the hands of a very powerful witch,” Belle remarked.

“Yes, I know the one. She’s been trying multiple times over to retrieve these along with my heart so what makes you think I’ll give them to you? You think I haven’t heard of the Dark One and his tactics?”

“Then this is a waste of our time. Come on Belle,” Rumple said, breaking his glare to pull Belle away but she stood firm.

“You got on, I’ll follow you in a second,” Belle responded, taking a breath to summon the bravery to comfort her in this moment so she could follow through with her promise to Rumple. For a second it looked as if he wasn’t going to move but then with a twist of his lips he walked a little further, sitting down on a tree stump just out of the clearing to wait. Only a few seconds later, Belle made her way over, slippers in her hand, a smile on her mouth.

“See? All it takes is a little kindness,” she grinned, looking down at him with a smirk and offering her hand to help him up.

“Uh-huh. Does it now?” He asked, frowning at her playfully. He took her hand, stabilizing her as she moved to switch out the shoes. She was halfway done when she paused to look up at Rumple with a questioning look. 

“I think you’re the one who has to wear these. I don’t know enough about your son to open a portal.”

“Uh, okay,” he said, now very unsure of himself. He sat back down on the stump, taking his time to undo his shoes. Belle replaced her shoes and handed him the magical ones which he slipped them on easily and stood. He felt his cheeks grow hot as he felt the uneven footing, made only worse when he saw Belle’s eyes flicker with suppressed laughter. “What is it now?” He asked, more self-conscious than annoyed. 

“Well it’s um,” the laughter broke loose, “You just don’t usually see the Dark One in heels,” she managed. He sighed, trying to regain composure, he never thought he’d miss the scales and the coverage they provided.

“I thought you wanted to help me save me son,” he said, giving her a look and she tried very hard to stop, clasping a hand over her mouth to reign in the giggles. 

“You’re right,” she said in the most serious voice she could manage, “Let’s go.”


End file.
